That Realness Is Now Closed!!!

Babu's influence in hip-hop started in the 1990s, as he played an essential role in the evolution of the DJ with the Los Angeles collective, The World Famous Beat Junkies. Taking his talents to a higher level, in 1997, he stormed the DJ battle scene and was the first to win all 3 categories (Scratching, Beat Juggling, and Teams) at the International Turntablist Federation.

While continuing to be a dominant force in the battle scene, Babu released a number of ground breaking mixtape albums combining intricate mixing and turntablism.

From these releases, the most notable included Comprehension, Duck Season Vol. 1 & 2, and his 1999 collaboration effort Sound Bombing 2 (Rawkus Records) with fellow Beat Junkie, DJ J Rocc.

As an official member of the West Coast group Dilated Peoples he stands at the forefront, as the group's DJ, he preserves the art of turntablism and lets all fans know that the "DJ feat. is the backbone of hip-hop.

One of the most documented DJs in the world, Babu continues to appear in both national and international media outlets, including live television showcases on MTV's "Sucker Free feat. and BET's "Rap City", as well as feature stories in high profiled music publications such as VIBE, Source, XXL, and Rolling Stone.

01. DS3 Intro feat. Dilated Peoples
02. Dearly Departed feat. M.O.P.
03. Fan Mail feat. Little Brother, Joe Scudda & Darien Brockington
04. The Unexpected feat. MF DOOM & Sean Price
05. Frozen feat. Guilty Simpson
06. East West Connection feat. A.G.
07. My Opinion feat. Bishop Lamont
08. 2 Feet feat. Kardinall Offishall & Rakaa Iriscience
09. Black & Brown Army feat. Chace Infinite & Sick Jacken
10. Graveyardshiftin' feat. Cali Agents & Roc Marciano
11. For Whatever It's Worth feat. Evidence
12. It's a New Day feat. M.E.D.
13. O.G. feat. Strong Arm Steady
14. Guns Gon' Blow feat. Termanology
15. That Ain't Gangsta feat. Likwit Junkies
16. Meant To Be feat. Roc 'C' & Oh No
17. SBX2LAX2OX feat. Wildchild & Percee P
18. Ahead Of My Time feat. Niko

Unlike the mostly NY-centric focus by other DJs, Babu has always made sure his West Coast peers get equal time. While NY stalwarts like Talib Kweli ("Raise the Bar"), KRS-One ("Underground"), and Gang Starr ("Deadly Habits") are in the mix, so are the Bay Area's Planet Asia ("Right or Wrong") and L.A.'s Chace Infinite ("Do For Self"), Defari ("Behold My Life" remix), and of course, Dilated Peoples, who pop up three times, most effectively on Rakaa's solo joint, "Ends to Means." Duck Season 2 is markedly consistent in sound and pacing, which, on one hand, bespeaks Babu's expert mixing skills. However, it'd also be nice to hear Babu reach out more, beyond just the underground independent world, and diversify the sound of his mix-CD with different kinds of artists besides certified mic rippers. Duck Season 2 preaches effectively to the choir, but Babu could stand to get his message to a bigger congregation too.

01. Intro
02. Raise The Bar (Feat. Talib Kweli)
03. Street (Feat. A.G.)
04. Do For Self (Feat. Chace Infinite)
05. The Official (Feat. Jaylib)
06. Ends To Means (Feat. Rakaa-Iriscience)
07. Elevate, Build & Create (Feat. Phil Da Agony)
08. Serious (The New Message) (Feat. 1st Infantry & Prodigy)
09. Live From Defcon (Skit) (Feat. Defari, Phil Da Agony, Krondon & Planet Asia)
10. Behold My Life (Remix) (Feat. Defari & Dilated Peoples)
11. Right Or Wrong (Feat. Planet Asia)
12. Time To Rep (Feat. Medaphoar, Oh No & Wildchild)
13. Think Fast (Feat. Infamous Mobb)
14. The Big Duck Hunt (Skit) (Feat. Dilated Peoples)
15. Deadly Habitz (Feat. Gang Starr)
16. The Song (Feat. Krondon)
17. I Got This (Feat. Likwit Junkies)
18. Underground (Feat. KRS-One)
19. Booyakah (Click Click) (O.G. Version) (Feat. Sly Boogie)
20. Outro (Feat. Rhettmatic, J. Rocc & Melo-D)

Part 1
Part 2

Ex-Beat Junkie and Dilated Peoples refugee Babu takes the time-honored hip-hop tradition of the master mix and twists it up a bit. A well-traveled and well-respected man, the Los Angeles turntablist is an emcee's DJ who got his start during the early '90s, a fact reflected in Duck Season, Vol. 1's almost lazily nostalgic selection. Overall, the production work reigns supreme over fairly mediocre lyricism. However, the album's old-school feel is strengthened by Babu's tight mixing skills. Not only are the songs well blended, he actually chops things up a bit with a taste of cut 'n' scratch and some nice backspin techniques. Random snippets of dialogue and sound effects tie into the Duck Season theme. New York is repped to full effect by solid cuts from Bumpy Knuckles, M.O.P., and the Beatnuts, while Phil Da Agony and Jurassic 5 hold it down for the West.

01. Duck Season Intro
02. Watch Out (Feat. De La Soul & Jose “Perico” Hernandez)
03. Kronkite (Feat. The Creators & Phil Da Agony)
04. Duck Season (Feat. The Beatnuts & Al' Tariq)
05. Concrete Nigga (Feat. Major)
06. Patch Up The Pieces (Feat. DJ Muro & Bumpy Knuckles)
07. Follow Instructions (Feat. M.O.P.)
08. Cake (Feat. Pete Rock & The U.N.)
09. Sight For Sore Eyes (Feat. Kankick & Visionaries)
10. Stand Clear (Feat. Baby Blak & Crushall)
11. Behold My Life (Feat. Defari)
12. Microphone Mathematics (Remix) (Feat. Quasimoto)
13. Center Of Attention (Feat. Dilated Peoples, Souls Of Mischief & Pep Love)
14. Gold Chain Music (Feat. Bumrush Bros., Planet Asia & Evidence)
15. The Man: The Icon (Feat. Big Daddy Kane)
16. Ducky Boy (Feat. Jurassic 5)

"The Layover" idea came about while I was on tour with Little Brother last year. It was supposed to be a side project that Khrysis and I were going to do - him on the beats me on the mic, 5 songs, free download. I strayed from the "side project" idea and moved towards making,"The Layover" an Official EP. Pete Rock & CL Smooth's All Souled Out or Ice Cube's Kill At Will are big inspirations and examples of EP's that were really quality & served as the perfect vehicle to make me get the next album to drop shortly there after. This is my intention with The Layover EP. It was important to me that even though Khrysis and I didn't do the whole project together he still be a major part of it, and he gladly accepted. This is THE FIRST banger off of my upcoming EP - "THE LAYOVER" title track. Khrysis on the boards with the heat, Dj Revolution On the Cut, and me on the mic, painting a picture about my best friend, FREK ONE who I lost in 1993. This is really taking my career WORLDWIDE, and some classic E-V Word Play to get this project kicked off on the right note! So much more to come...Stay Tuned!"
-Evidence

01. The Layover (Prod. by Khrysis)
02. For Whom the Bell Tolls (Feat. Phonte, Blu, Will.I.Am) (Prod. by Khrysis)
03. So Fresh - Step Brothers (Prod. by The Alchemist)
04. Solitary Confinement (Feat. Krondon) (Prod. by Sid Roams)
05. Don’t Hate (Feat. Defari) (Prod. by Evidence)
06. My Favorite Part of Traveling (Interlude)
07. The Far Left (Feat. The Alchemist and Fashawn) (Prod. by The Alchemist)
08. Rain or Shine(Prod. by DJ Babu)
09. To Be Determined (Feat Elzhi and Aloe Blacc) (Prod. by The Alchemist)
10. The Cold Weather (Prod. by Evidence)